


GOING BACK TO YESTERDAY  # 25

by StarWars1977



Category: STAR WARS Before THE RETURN OF THE JEDI and THE FORCE AWAKENS
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-02
Updated: 2018-02-02
Packaged: 2019-03-12 17:24:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13552095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarWars1977/pseuds/StarWars1977
Summary: Han and Chewbacca, along with Ben, visit a placewhere Han has done business before...with some consequences





	GOING BACK TO YESTERDAY  # 25

GOING BACK TO YESTERDAY..#25  
The Later Adventures of Han Solo

 

Walking through the dirt ‘gate’ of the town, Han held his son’s hand a little tighter.  
Chewbacca, grasping his bowcaster in a strong paw, sniffed as he looked around. Trash and garbage was strewn everywhere…   
a few denzins of the town were walking about. The place even had a foul smell; blaster shots echoed in the distance clashing with the over-loud   
music and laughter from the cantina at the end of the dirt pathway.

“Bring that boy over here!” Yelled a hooded man, laying lax against a pile of dirt in a shadowy corner of the wall.

Han glanced back and kept walking. Passing a shade darkened alley, he could see some poor soul being beaten by several nasty looking beings.  
He glanced down at Ben, walking between himself and Chewbacca, who seemed oblivious to what was going on. Then, in the distance,  
Han caught sight of three evil looking species, dressed in rags. Their long, stringy, matted hair obscuring most of their facial features.   
They pointed to toward Han and ambled slowly in that direction.

“The group ahead of us.” Han spoke low to his partner. Chewbacca nodded; he’d seen them too.

Passing the sagging, weather worn, paint peeled buildings, Han kept his gait steady, casual, unhurried. The trio continued to point,   
talking and laughing among themselves, moving closer, step by step.

Han stopped…. held a ‘halt’ hand to Chewbacca, then walked a few steps forward, flipping the strap on the holster.. his right hand posed over the blaster.   
The three stopped, eyeing the spacer…considering their chances. Two scantily clad Latesian women quickly ran into a sagging building on the opposite side of the street.

Chewbacca bared his teeth and uttered a low, menacing growl, Ben looked up at the Wookiee.   
The trio gestured and shook their heads; two breaking to the right and one to the left, behind a rock outcrop.

Han walked back to Ben and Chewbacca. Twisting his head around, looking at the building fronts, he said. “If I remember, it’s one of these here.”   
He continued to survey the area. “There it is.” Pointing to the faded, broken sign as he took hold of Ben’s hand again.

There were no windows on the single level building, just a door that wasn’t much more than a hole in the wall, the place looked like it should have fallen down years ago.

“You stay out here, Chewie, block the door so no one else can come in.” Han instructed his  
partner. (“You want me to keep Ben out here?“) Chewbacca asked. “No, I’ll take him with me.“ The Wookiee nodded and stepped   
his massive frame in front of the door as Han and his son entered the dark interior.

As Han brushed aside a large, green, dripping, arachnoid web, Ben didn’t utter a sound….instinctively knowing to stay quite.  
The place was cluttered; machinery, ship parts…items of all kinds sat on sagging, broken shelves and scattered on the mud clumped floor.

“Faw!” Han called as he approached the counter. “Faw Agor, you still here?”

A squat being with short arms rose up from a tattered, sagging chair behind the counter, his wide-set eyes focusing, scanning the one standing in front of him. 

It was the same being Han remembered from long ago, just grayer, stooped and aged.

#“Solo-Han! It’s been many years, but I never forget a face.”#

Ben rose on his tip toes to see. The movement caught Faw’s eye. Raising up, he placed his  
ample torso across the cracked counter; leaning down until his face almost touched the edge. 

# “And who is this?” # Faw turned his head upwards, his yellow eyes glinting.  
#”Your son?”#

“Merchandise.” Han casually stated. 

Faw raised up. #”So, are you here to sell or trade?”# He asked.

“Not the boy.” Han told him. “These.” Reaching into his pocket, Han drew out the gems. Six of the gleaming rocks rolled from the Corellian’s  
hand…then dug out the seventh.

The old one stood transfixed. Reaching out, he grasped a gem in each hand; drawing them to his eye for a closer examination.   
#”These are sagrite! I’ve heard about them, but have never held one in my hand. So, these are what you want to sell.”#

Han nodded. “How much…and I want ready cash, not credits.”

#”These are forbidden….did you steal them?”#

“Just tell me how much.” Han replied.

Ben gasped and nudged closer to his father’s legs…Han instinctively reached for his weapon, turned and saw a roll-rhat tumbling across the dirty floor.   
He silently squeezed Ben’s hand for assurance.

Faw was stroking his chin…thinking…#“Ten thousand….for each.”#

Han laughed and casually looked to the side…then looked back at him. “You know they’re worth a hundred times more…each.”

Faw continued to stroke his chin….inwardly salivating at the thought of possessing the  
rare gems. “#Twenty thousand.”#

Han shook his head.

Faw dropped the gems and grasped two others….#Thirty-five thousand…each.”#

Han just kept looking at him.

#”Alright! Fifty thousand…..and I’ll make you a deal.”#

“You want to make me a deal?” Han leaned in and pointed to his chest.

“You take some cargo for me and I’ll ‘forget’ who sold these to me. Otherwise, if  
you don’t take the fifty thousand and the deal, I’ll call the authorities. They will arrest you and your ‘guard’   
(nothing missed the old being’s eye) for trying to sell these gems. Then.. who will take care of your ….‘merchandise’?”# Faw hissed as he gave a sickly, evil smile.

Han grimaced inwardly. That was a real possibility…and he’d brought his son right in to it.  
Horrible images of what would happen to Ben in a place like this flashed through his mind.

“What’s the cargo?”

#“I have fifty kegs of polifrene that need to be delivered“#. 

Han knew what that was. It was used by less advanced worlds to build bombs for their wars.  
“You know that stuff’s been banned by many worlds and galaxies.”

Faw smiled and waved a knotty hand over the gems that lay on the counter. #“Why worry about details when you just brought these to me?”#

Han could see he had no choice. And, by agreeing to haul the cargo, that would guarantee getting them all off the planet unscathed.

The Corellian drew a hand down his face. “Alright. I’ll take it for you. And fifty-thousand  
ready cash for the sagrite.”

“#Good…good…”# Faw rubbed his knarly hands together. #I’ll have the kegs delivered to your ship, along with the money as soon as possible.   
Where did you land?”#

“ A half kilometer south of town.”

#”Sure you won’t reconsider selling the boy, Solo-Han? Can give you a great price.”#

Han took a deep breath. “He’s spoken for.”

*****

“Let’s go Chewie.” Han said as the Wookiee moved from the door.

“We’re leaving now, sir?” Ben looked up at his father as he clasped his hand.

Han gave him a smile. “Yes.”

They walked down the broken, crumbling mudcrete sidewalk, passed the buildings.  
As they came into the open by the last structure, one of the matted hair creatures jumped from the blind side and   
struck Chewbacca hard across the knees with a thick plank. Caught unaware, the Wookiee gave a yelp of pain and crumpled to the ground.   
At the same moment, another of the evil trio jumped Han from the back, locking skinny arms around his throat, dragging him to the ground also.   
The third, grabbed Ben and began running back toward the rock outcrop with him.

“Help! Help!” Ben cried, terrified.

Chewbacca rose and caught his running attacker, picked him up and, with a lethal roar, threw him against a dead tree trunk. The being never moved again.

Han struggled with his attacker; was able to grab his blaster and shot the creature in the  
head. He staggered to his feet, oblivious to the blood trickling down the side of his face from where he’d struck the hardscrabble ground.

“HELP! HELP!” Ben’s cries echoed in Han’s ears as well as the screams and maniacal laughter of the being.   
’Sounds just like a Hadarian witch’, He thought as he pointed his drawn blaster toward them, hesitating for a fraction of a second  
….the being was backing farther away.. holding a frightened, twisting, squirming Ben shield-like in front of him…….if he shot, which one would he hit?

MORE Feb. 9, 2018


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